The WonkLine: March 1, 2011

“Tens of thousands of people have flooded the streets of the Yemeni capital Sanaa, again voicing their demands for the fall of the government.”

“Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi’s forces appeared to make little headway in a concerted assault on rebels in several cities around the country and in a sustained attack early Tuesday morning in the western city of Zawiyah.”

“The United States and its European allies tightened their noose around Libya’s besieged government Monday, positioning military assets for possible action in the Mediterranean as they launched humanitarian efforts to assist refugees and rebel forces that have seized the eastern part of the country.”

“With the Iowa Supreme Court set to return to its full complement of seven members, some are wondering whether efforts to oust justices who supported a gay marriage ruling will resume.”

“The Catholic Church isn’t giving up its fight against same-sex marriage in Maryland.” Church leaders “issued a joint statement Monday urging their flock to ‘act at once’ to prevent the House of Delegates from passing” a same-sex marriage law.

In North Carolina, supporters of a bill “that would ask voters to write a ban on same-sex marriage into the state constitution say it has its best chance at passage since they started pushing for it in 2004.”

The Hill writes that “Newt Gingrich’s simultaneous courtship of the base of the Republican Party and Latino voters could pose major problems for his likely bid for the White House.”

An Oklahoma House committee has approved an Arizona immigration copycat bill.

The Georgia House Judiciary Committee approved legislation which would require companies with more than five employees to use the federal E-Verify system to check the immigration status of its workers.

“A U.S. military program that paid $175 million to for-profit colleges for active-duty service members’ tuition in 2009 may be wasting money because of insufficient controls and oversight,” according to the Government Accountability Office.

In the budget he is releasing today, Gov. Scott Walker (R-WI) is proposing to cut $900 million out of his state’s education funding, reducing education spending by nearly 10 percent.

High school students in Idaho walk out in protest against state superintendent Tom Luna’s education reform plan.

A New York Times/CBS poll found that Americans “oppose weakening the bargaining rights of public employee unions by a margin of nearly two to one: 60 percent to 33 percent,” and oppose, by 56 to 37 percent, cutting public sector pay and benefits to reduce the deficit.

“Rising food and energy prices ate away at the extra money workers received in January from a reduction in the payroll tax,” according to data from the Commerce Department.

“America’s big international banks should restructure their operations unless they can prove they can easily be broken up if they start toppling during a financial crisis,” FDIC Chair Sheila Bair said yesterday.

DOJ completed a round of briefing last night which addresses whether Judge Roger Vinson’s error-laden opinion requires implementation of the Affordable Care Act to cease immediately. Legal observers now wait in eager anticipation to learn how Vinson will ignore the binding precedents cited in DOJ’s briefs to achieve the result most desired by the Tea Party.

The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments tomorrow in a case which will decide whether former Attorney General John Ashcroft has absolute immunity to suits claiming he exceeded his prosecutorial authority under the Constitution.

Reagan-appointed Judge Royce Lamberth warned that the Senate’s broken confirmation process is injuring the federal judiciary. He’s right.

“House Republicans have dropped some controversial provisions from a bill that would permanently bar federal funding for abortions, but still plan to extend the reach of existing bans to cover tax credits and some deductions.”

“Liberals say President Obama’s support for accelerating state waivers for the healthcare reform law creates new opportunity for the federal government to back more liberal healthcare policies rejected during past debate over the reform law.”

How will Obama’s support for allowing states to opt out of the individual mandate by 2014 change the legal challenges against the Affordable Care Act?

Hughie Stover, security chief of Massey Energy’s deadly Upper Big Branch mine and Don Blankenship’s personal bodyguard, was arrested Monday for lying to the FBI, warning miners about federal inspections, and destroying thousands of safety documents.

Crony carbon capitalist Charles Koch decries “crony capitalism” in the Wall Street Journal: “Too many businesses have successfully lobbied for special favors.

Freak storms killed two in Tennessee, tornadoes hit Indiana and Ohio, trashed the western Carolinas.

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